Magnetic recording and playback instrument and support for magnetic recording

ABSTRACT

Apparatus designed for playback of magnetic tracks from one side of a rectangular simultaneously with visual reading of a printed text corresponding to the recorded program on the opposite side. A movable marker, always moving from left to right across the lines of the text, provides a continuous indication correlating the audio replay with the text, the distance being transversed by the magnetic head from either side of the card being equal to the distance traversed by the marker from the left side of the card.

' United States Patent Blazevic et al.

[ 1 June 20, 1972 [54] MAGNETIC RECORDING AND PLAYBACK INSTRUMENT ANDSUPPORT FOR MAGNETIC RECORDING [72] Inventors: Milos Blazevic, 62, rueGeorges Ferrand, Bonneuil-sur-Mame; Joseph Kohn, 146 Boulevard deGrenelle, Pan's, both of France [22] Filed: July 7, 1969 21 App1.N0.:839,471

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 4, 1968 France ..68157948[52] US. Cl... ...274/4 J, 35/35 C, 274/42 P [51] Int. Cl. [58] Field ofSearch ..274/4.2; 179/100.2 T; 35/35 C [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,849,542 9/1958 MacChesney.... ..274/4.2 X 2,998,4948/1961 Nations 1 79/1002 T 3,176,083 3/1965 Hauser ..179/100.2 T3,185,776 4/1965 Bender..... ...35/35 C UX 3,348,320 10/1967 Br0kaw......35/35 C 3,396,478 8/1968 Genin.... ..35/35 C 3,412,483 11/1968 Jacobs..35/35 C 3,471,654 10/1969 Dollenmayer ..274/4.2 X

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 384,233 2/1965 Switzerland ..274/4.2

Primary Examiner-Leonard Forman Assistant Examiner-Dennis A. DealingAttorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [57] ABSTRACT Apparatusdesigned for playback of magnetic tracks from one side of a rectangularsimultaneously with visual reading of a printed text corresponding tothe recorded program on the opposite side. A movable marker, alwaysmoving from left to right across the lines of the text, provides acontinuous indication correlating the audio replay with the text, thedistance being transversed by the magnetic head from either side of thecard being equal to the distance traversed by the marker from the leftside of the card.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJUNZO I972 3 71 344 sum 6 BF 6FIG.8

recording support, essentially characterized by the fact that itconsists of a rectangular card, preferably with the format of apostcard, whose front side at least contains or receives a text or elsea drawing or photograph and whose other side contains a magneticcoating.

MAGNETIC RECORDING AND PLAYBACK INSTRUMENT AND SUPPORT FOR MAGNETICRECORDING The invention relates to the reacording' and reading of 5sounds, especially words, on a magnetic support. It is known that, afterhaving used steel wires which have been completely abandoned and thendisks which are disappearing, devices for the recording and magneticreproduction of sounds practically exclusively use magnetic bands formagnetic support. However, the latter present utilization difficultieswhich led to the development of different types of cases making possibleeasy use and a long-lasting recording. On the other hand, they presentthe drawback of a high price and they are very impractical in thefrequent cases in which only a small recording quantity and an easyselection and identification are required and where an easy postalshipment is desired. Magnetic disks, whose recording duration is less,generally present too large a format to be sent by mail, and theypresent the drawback of a difficult position finding and identificationof the recorded texts.

The purpose of the invention is that of creating'a new magneticrecording means avoiding the above-mentioned difficulties and especiallymaking it possible to record a small recording quantity on economicsupports easy to forward which can readily be identified and with anexact position finding of each word recorded, at the same time servingas a visual support.

The present invention has as its object:

A. the new industrial product consisting of a new magnetic B. the newindustrial product consisting of an apparatus'intended for soundrecording and sound recording simultaneously with visual reading orexamination of the foregoing card, this device being essentiallycharacterized by the fact that it includes a plate intended to receivesaid card with its magnetic part below, a magnetic head borne by acarriage and moving in a groove inthe plate alternately from left toright and then from right to left over the entire length of thecard,.exploring parallel tracks on the magnetic part of the latter, aframe surrounding the magnetic card and displacing the latter from frontto back by a certain amount at each end of thecourse of the precedingframe, the upper part of the apparatus and the upper part of the framebeing transparent over a sufficient extent to make it possible toexamine all the registrations on the upper part of the card, the fixedupper part of the device additionally including a rectangular outline inits transparent part delimiting the printed or typed line on the card ifthere is a place corresponding to the sound part in course of readingunder the effect of the displacement of the magnetic head for eachposition of the card, this fixed transparent part also preferablyincluding an index always moving from left to right whatever themovement direction of the magnetic head and approximately finding theposition on the length of the visible line of the word corresponding tothat read or recorded at the same moment by the magnetic head. Thisdevice can also include the following characteristics taken separatelyor in combination:

l. The frame includes a transparent cover linked by its 2. The releasementioned above consists of a wheel with altemate teeth in one piecewith a shaft bearing two pinions which mesh on two racks located on bothsides of the frame, and the finger of this wheel consists of the bentend of a rod parallel to the foregoing shaft shaft and bearing lugs metby the carriage in the vicinity of each of its course ends, this rodincluding a spring or unit of springs returning it axially into a fixedmiddle position as well as a spring entraining it in rotation on itselfso that the release finger is blocked by the teeth of the release wheelagainst a lug fixed in the stoppage direction and on the other handreleases this wheel on the return of the carriage under the manualaction mentioned above.

3. The carriage mentioned above is supported by slide bars and moves bymeans of an endless belt which is entrained by a continuous movement andwhose two sides are parallel to the movements of the carriage, amechanical or electric abrupt release device operated by fixed andregulable end of course lugs inducing engagement of the carriagealternately on one side and on the other, said lugs being regulated sothat the sudden change in displacement direction of the carriage isproduced at the same time as or immediately after the liberation of theend of line release mentioned above.

In order to better understand the object of the invention. a mode of.execution will be described below by way of illustration and without anylimiting character and will be represented in the attached drawing, inwhich:

FIG. 1 represents a part of a magnetic card in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 represents a top view of the overall mechanism of the recordingand reproduction apparatus with the use of these cards;

FIG. 3 represents in greater scale a vertical section along IIIIII ofFIG. 2 with the carriage in outside view;

FIG. 4 is a partial vertical section along IVIV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 represents a top view of the left part of the mechanism on agreater scale;

FIG. 7 also represents a top view on a larger scale of the right part ofthe mechanism;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the right part of the mechanism;

FIG. 9 is a drawing illustrating the position finding functioning; and

FIG. 10 represents a vertical section on a greater scale through thetransparent cover and the edge of the fixed upper part.

The apparatus in accordance with the invention uses as support magneticcards each consisting of rectangle l of plastic material or bristol, anenlarged fragment of which is seen in FIG. 1. For practical'reasons,this rectangle preferably has a format close to that used for postcardsin order to expedite forwarding by mail. By way of example, this formatcan advantageously have a length of 148 mm and a height of mm. The backof this card is covered by a magnetic support of known type either bycoating or by gluing, and the front side of the card can be used,according to an essential characteristic of the invention, as a supportfor visual registrations which can consist of horizontal lines 2 of aprinted or typed text or of an engraving, photograph, drawing orgeographic chart, this for the purpose of simultaneously having a visualillustration inthe form of image or written text and the correspondingsound illustration on a single support. In particular, the soundillustration can be the correctly pronounced reading of the writtentext. The magnetic support located on Y the back of each card is ofcontinuous type without grooves,

but as will be seen below the sound is recorded thereon in the 7 form ofparallel straight-line tracks on writings lines 2 and correspondingthereto.

In order to achieve the recording and sound reproduction of such a card,it is of course necessary to utilize a special device which is also theobject of the invention, on the one hand I because of the particularmovement which the magnetic head sheet aluminum having, as representedin FIG. 3, an inverted pan section with vertical edges 4 and 5 formingparallel parallel plates and themselves terminated by horizontal edges 6and 7. This plate contains in about its center a rectangular slot 8 of alength slightly greater than that of card 1 and in which magnetic head 9moves.

On this plate rests frame 10, which can also be cut out of an aluminumsheet and which contains central opening 11 of the same format as card 1and intended to receive the latter. This frame is prolonged on the twosides parallel to bottle 5 by vertical edges 12 and 13 which areterminated below by teeth 14 forming a rack.

Exploration of the magnetic tracks corresponding to lines 2 takes placeby movement of magnetic head 9, card 1 remaining immobile, whereas thepassage from one track to the next takes place by movement of the cardon the plate under the displacement effect of frame 10.

With respect to the movement of magnetic head 9, the latter is set incarriage 15 which glides in guide rails 16 and 17 preferably consistingof steel sections fixed under plate 3. In order .to reduce friction andinertia during movement direction changes, it is important for thiscarriage to be as light as possible, and it can advantageously be made Aof selflubricating plastic material. As is represented in FIGS. 4 and 5,the carriage includes two parallel walls 18 and 19 under its lowersurface, and an endless belt 20 forwarded on two pulleys 21 and 22 isarranged so that its two parallel sides pass between walls 18 and 19extremely close to each other. Two flanges 23 are arranged between thesewalls in pierced-ear form, each with a central hole in which acylindrical piece 24 made of metal or plastic material slides whoselength is equal to the inside distance between the two walls 18 and 19minus two times the thickness of endless belt 20 and also minus a verysmall value making it possible for a play to appear.

Endless belt 20 can be of any nature, for example, a belt made ofplastic material of very slight thickness or else a cloth belt possiblysurrounded by a plastic material or an elastomer with a highcoefi'icient of adhesion. It can also be provided with fine verticalgrooves, in which case the ends of cylindrical part 24 would preferablyalso be grooved, as well as the drive pulley. I

It is then understood that, in order to assure the movement of thecarriage in one direction or another, it is sufficient to entrainendless belt 20 with a continuous movement and to move cylindrical part24 in one direction or the other so that it engages the carriage on thegoing side or on the return side of this endless belt. The driving ofthis belt 20 takes place by means of a suitable engine 25 provided withpulley 26 which, by means of belt 27, activates a large pulley 28 in onepiece with pulley 22 so that endless belt 20 moves with a continuousmovement in the direction represented by arrow 29.

In order to move part 24 axially, cylindrical transverse groove 30 isprovided in same, within which a cylindrical part 31 is located crossedby excentric shaft 32 which is mounted in carriage l5 and which permitspart 31 to turn freely. The lower part of part 31 is in one piece withlever 33, so that movement of this lever produces a movement ofcylindrical part 24 with considerable reduction, permitting the desiredengaging.

A second lever 34 is mounted so as to be able to oscillate around thesame shaft 32. This lever 34 is located below lever 33, and it-ends inpart 35 located at approximately the same level as lever 33. Acompression spring, consisting in a simple are 36 made of piano wirelocated in a horizontal plane and terminated by two vertical parts 37,is placed between parts 33 and 35, which contain two holes in which saidvertical parts are connected, whose lower ends are simply inclined orcurved to prevent the spring from escaping. The clearance course oflever 33 is limited because of the limited play permitted to piece 24.On the other hand, the course of lever 34 is limited by column 38mounted in carriage 15 and on which the edge of part 34 butts in onedirection, as represented in FIG. 5, and in the other direction point 39prolongs this part 34 beyond shafi 32.

It is understood under these conditions that it is sufficient to placeside plates 4 and 5 of lugs 40 and 41 in proximity, each consisting(FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) of a simple sheet metal flange whose bent upper endsis fixed on plate 3 in order to produce a tilting of lever 34 at the endof the carriage course by acting on its end 35.

In the condition represented in FIG. 5, in fact, and with the rotationdirection selected, it is seen that spring 36 is supported on lever 34,which it pushes back as a thrust against column 38, and lever 33 ispushed in the direction represented by arrow 42 so that cylindrical part31, because of its eccentric nature, pushes cylindrical piece 24 towardsthe left side of FIG. 5, which produces both the liberation of the rightside and the catching of the left side of belt 20 between wall 18 of thecarriage and the end of piece 24, so that the carriage moves in thedirection of arrow 43.

Having arrived at the end of the course, part 35 then encounters lug 40and, with carriage 15 continuing its movement, lever 34 pivots in thedirection of arrow 42 and compressing are 36. Both parts 37 then enterinto alignment with shaft 32, and immediately after lever 33 tiltsabruptly toward the top of FIG. 5 whereas lever 34 is pushed backdownward until its point 39 hits column 38. This abrupt tilting of lever33 produces, by decentered cylindrical part 31, a disconnection of theside of belt 20 located at the left of the figure and an engagement ofthe side of belt 20 located at the right. Can-iage 15 thereforeinstantaneously changes its movement direction and again goes off in thedirection represented by arrow 44.

Carriage 15 then covers the entire width of the device in direction 44until part 35 of its lever 34, which is tilted in the manner indicated,encounters the other lug 41 at the course end, which produces a reversetilting, and so on.

In order for this instantaneous reversal of the movement direction totake place correctly, of course, it is necessary for carriage 15 as wellas the pieces it supports to be as light as possible, as stated above,and on the other hand for the drive device of the belt to have asufficient inertia, which can readily be obtained by adding anunrepresented inertia flywheel to drive engine 25 if necessary. In orderto record, the displacement speed of carriage 15 can be set at 2.38cm/second, which permits a correct magnetic registration and makes itp0$ib|e to easily read printed lines 2 at the same rate.

With respect to the movement of frame 10 permitting a successiveexploration of the different tracks corresponding to the differentlines, another mechanism is used especially including a shaft 45 whichpasses through the two side plates 4 and 5 through suitable holes so asto be able to turn freely on itself. At its left end, shaft 45 includesa pinion 46 which is in one piece with it and which engages teeth 14 ofrack 12 of frame 10, and at its right end this shaft has a similarpinion 47 engaging with teeth 14 of rack 13, this pinion being extendedfurther by part 48 terminated by a two-stage release wheel 49 containingan even number of teeth, for example eight in the example represented.It is seen in FIGS. 3 and 8 that half the teeth, designated by 50, arelocated at a certain level and that the other teeth 51, alternating withthe foregoing, are located at a different level.

Both pinions 46 and 47 are adjusted very exactly on shaft 47, preferablyby means of two flat bar irons applied at both ends of this shaft sothat the sides of frame 10 are exactly parallel to those of plate 3 bythe simultaneous engagement of both racks 12 and 13. Under theseconditions, the two'racks and the two pinions being identical from thestandpoint of dimensions. and modules, any movement of a rack causes arigorously identical movement of the other so that frame 10 constantlyremains parallel to itself in all its movements. In order to avoid aside clearance of frame 10, moreover, cylindrical stud 52 terminated bya head 53 and fixed at its base 54 in plate 3 is placed at the level ofrectangular slot 8, this stud passing through frame 10 through hole 55made in the left side of the frame. The width of this hole is equal tothe diameter of stud 52 with a play just sufiicient for permittingsliding.

A hole 56 is also provided on the right side, through which stud 57 alsofixed in plate 3 is passed, but in such a way that a considerable playis provided between this stud and the edges of hole 56. At the upperpart of this stud 57, the horizontal part 58 of a folded sheet piece isfixed, containing a front extension 59 and a rear extension 60 as wellas a part in brace form 61 connecting this horizontal part to a verticalpart 62 itself terminated at its base by flange 63 fixed in lower edge 7of plate 3 (see FIGS. 1, 3 and 7).

In its movements from front to back and from back to front, frame restson plate 3 by its own weight, consequently driving card I, which isdeposited into opening 11, by its edges. In order to prevent the raisingof the frame, a just sufficient play is provided below head 53 of stud52 and beneath part 58 fixed to other stud 57. On the other hand, theframe cannot tilt upward in its extreme positions since it is alsoretained by extension 59 when it is in'its most forward position and byextension 60 when it is in its rearmost position. For safetys sake,finally, in order to avoid the possibility of card 1 being able to slidebetween frame 10 and plate 3, two or more lugs 64 are arranged beloweach of the horizontal sides of this frame which are flush with innercutting 11 of the frame and which descend below the upper level of plate3, sliding in clearance grooves 65 cut into plate 3.

Two release springs 66 of small diameter, great flexibility andconsiderable length are used for the drive of the frame; they are eachhooked in the groove of a lug 67 fixed on one of the edges of the framein the vicinity of its forward end, each of these springs extendinghorizontally up to pulley 68 turning freely around shaft 69 respectivelyfastened in side plates 4 and 5, and then these springs return in ahorizontal or slightly inclined direction and are respectively hooked onlugs 70 and 71 of unequal lengths fixed vertically in edges 6 and 7 ofplate 3 at their front end. The upper side of spring 66 passes throughvertical part 62 on the right side through clearance hole 72, and thelower side passes between pulleys 22 and 28 connected to form a singlepiece by cylindrical part 73 of small diameter. Because of theflexibility and length of these springs, the latter exert an almostconstant effort on the carriage in a practically symmetrical manner,driving the latter constantly from front to rear, whereas on thecontrary release 49 serves to retain this movement of the frame by theaction of pinions 46 and 47. All the plays of the teeth are constantlyrecovered in this way, which gives a great precision to the unit.

A rod 74 extending parallel to shaft 45 in the vicinity of carriage l5and crossing side plates 4 and 5 in suitable holes so as to be able toboth slide and rotate in these holes is used in accordance with theinvention to effect immobilization of release wheel 49 and its releaseat each line end.

Rod 74 is terminated on the right side by bent perpendicular part 75itself cut at its end so as to prevent a lower level part 76 whichengages between the two levels of teeth 50 and 51 as represented inFIGS. 7 and 8. Frame 10 is driven toward the rear under the effect ofthe action of springs 66 in the direction represented by arrow 77 inFIG. 8, which has the effect of driving shaft 45 in the directionrepresented by arrow 78. Under these conditions, tooth 50 or 51 tends toraise part 75 at the contact 76 and takes it away in a thrust againsthorizontal edge 79 of the lower contour of vertical part 62 mentionedabove (see FIGS. 3 and 8). In addition, a light spring 80 surrounds theright end of rod 74 and catches at 81 under part 75, this springextending forward by rectilinear part 82 whose perpendicular end 83catches in hole 84 of side plate 5. This spring also acts in thedirection in which part 75 passes in thrust against edge 79.

As is seen in FIG. 5, rod 74 is inserted into a socket at the other end,for example made of brass or plastic, containing a cylindrical centralpart 85 prolonged by cylindrical parts of slight thickness 86. The endof one of these parts 86 rests against element 87 placed in a groove ofrod 74, and the end of the other part 86 is pressed by elastic element88 by means of ring 89. Around each of parts 86 slides cup 90, whosebottom is perforated by a hole and whose cylindrical edge is supportedon side plate 4. Finally, two compression springs 91 are each arrangedaround a part 86 between the bottom of one of cups 90 and element 87 orring 89. In the position represented in FIG. 5, both springs 91 arealready partially compressed so that the cups are supported on shoulderslocated at the ends of cylindrical part 85, the'edges of the cups comingin contact with side plates 4 and leaving a very slight play to permit afree rotation of rod 74.

It is readily seen that this spring device has the effect of constantlyrestoring the rod into a axial position of fixed equilibrium since whenthe rod is displaced axially in one direction or the other, no matterhow little it is, cylindrical part 85 slides in the hole of side plate 4and one of its ends releases contact with the bottom of thecorresponding cup, thus permitting the return effort of correspondingspring 91 to act, whereas the other cup swings clear of side plate 4. Inrest position, consequently, the rod is always presented in the positionshown in FIG. 5, and it is under these conditions that flat part 76 issymmetrically placed mounted on the separation plane of teeth 50 and S1.7

On the right side, rod 74 contains another element 92 identical toelement 87 seen in FIG. 7. Finally, as is seen in FIGS. 4 and 5,carriage 15 contains side flange 93 whose contour passes very close torod 74 in order to be able to catch elements 87 or 92 at the left orright at the course end.

It is seen under these conditions that when the carriage is moved in thedirection of arrow 43 in FIG. 5, flange 93 also drives rod 74 in thedirection of arrow 43 at the end of the course, catching element 87.Bent part 75 is moved horizontally to the left under these conditions,sliding below edge 79, and its flat part 76 ends by allowing tooth 50which it retains to escape. Frame 10 then advances immediately by theinterval corresponding to a line under the effect of springs 66, and

release 49 turns in direction 78 until the following tooth 51 thrustsbelow flat face 76. After a change of the movement direction of thecarriage, the unit of rod 74 and its bent part 75 returns to medialposition without passing anything, whereas when the carriage catcheselement 92 by its flange 93 at course end in moving toward the right,rod 74 moves toward the right in this case, which similarly frees tooth51 and catches the following tooth 50.

It is important to note that carriage 15 produces two actions 7 at eachend of course, one corresponding to the change in line and the othercorresponding to the change in direction of engagement 24. It isimportant for these two actions to take place in the order given andnotin reverse order because if the change in direction on the part ofthe carriage in fact takes place before the line change release,the'latter will never take place. The position of side flange 93 on thecarriage as well as the positions of elements 87 and 92 are consequentlydetermined by construction so that the magnetic head exactly covers theentire length of the card. With respect to lugs 40 and 41, they areregulated by simple permanentdeformation so that the release of thecarriage direction reversal device takes place immediately after theline change.

At the beginning of the operation, work starts by manually drawing frame10 forward in the direction represented by arrow 94 on FIGS. 1 and 4,consequently stretching the two springs 66. In this movement, release 49turns in the direction opposite to that represented by arrow 78 in FIG.8, which results in depressing bent part 75 of lug 74, which rotates onitself in the side plates. The unit thus functions like a ratchet wheel,and at the course end catching by part 76 takes place again under theeffect of return spring 80.

In order to effect this initial movement of frame 10, use is preferablymade of a transparent cover 95 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) fitting exactly intoopening 11 of frame 10 and connecting at the rear part of this frame bymeans of two unrepresented end pins. At the front end, this cover 95terminates in pinion 96 placed in suitable clearance Ila made in thelower edge of opening 11. It is in this way possible to catch pinion 96with the fingers and pull in the direction of arrow 94 until frame 10 isin stop and then, still acting on same pinion 96, to raise the cover tomake it rotate around its pivots, the cover then being placed in avertical or inclined position just in front of edge 97 of the fixed andtransparent upper part 98 of the device case (not represented in FIG.2). It is especially seen that, even if the drive engine is left inpermanent rotation, the simple opening of cover 95 immobilizes the frameand makes the line advance mechanism inoperative. It is then readilypossible to put a card in position in opening 11 and then close thecover, which immediately frees the movement of the frame.

It is important to note that, according to one feature of the invention,all the magnetic tracks corresponding to odd lines are explored by themagnetic head from left to right, for example, whereas all the trackscorresponding to even lines are explored in the reverse direction, butdue to the mechanism used a direction reversal is not possible. At eachend of course, in fact, a release is produced only if retention trigger75 and consequently the carriage are moved in a suitable direction.

After each introduction of a new card, the carriage makes a certainnumber of blank courses, two, for example, in order to permit the firsttrack to pass edge 97 of fixed part 98 and to arrive at the height ofslot 8 passed through by the magnetic head. At the same time, if theupper part of the support contains a written text, the first line ofthis text is placed beneath a rectangular window 99 delimited by opaquetracing 100 on fixed part 98 (see FIGS. 4 and The lines and thefollowing magnetic tracks are then explored one after another, frame 10and consequently card 1 advancing at each line end so that the newmagnetic track appears at the level of the magnetic head and the newcorresponding writing line is presented below window 99.

In order to facilitate position finding of the location of the linewhich at a given moment corresponds to the word which is read by themagnetic head at the same instant, it is especially useful as animprovement to provide for an index moving in window 99 permitting theposition finding of this word. However, such an index cannot consist ofa part in one piece with carriage on the one hand because the carriagemoves below the lower surface of card 1 whereas the index necessarilyshould move above and on the other because the exploration of themagnetic tracks by the magnetic head takes place alternately from lefttoright for add lines and from right to left for even lines, whereas onthe other hand written lines are of course always read from left toright. However, it is possible to overcome these two difficulties bymeans of a particularly simple mechanism represented in the figures.

This position-finding mechanism uses, as represented in FIGS. 3 and 6, asmall pulley 101 rotating freely around cylindrical part 102 extendingcylindrical stud 52 beyond its head 53 as well as a small similar pulley103 rotating around a shaft 104 attached in edge 6 of plate 3. As isseen in FIGS. 3 and 7, two pulleys 105 and 106 are used on the rightside, rotating freely around a shaft 107 set perpendicularly in verticalwall 62 and two other pulleys 108 and 109 rotating freely around shaft110 also fixed perpendicularly to vertical wall 62. On the other hand,very fine thread 1 11 is used, for example a polyamide monocrin thread,one of whose ends is attached in groove 112 made at the end of column 38described above. This thread passes around pulley 103, passing throughside plate 4 through a suitable window 113 and then returns through thissame window, transversely passing through the entire apparatus and goingthrough window 114, which releases the passage of pulleys 28 and 22connected by part 73 with passage of shaft 115, around which theforegoing unit rotates. This thread then passes on the farthest rearwardpulleys 108 and 105 and extends horizontally along tracing 100 of theupper edge of window 99, and then after return around pulley 101 itreturns along tracing 100 of the lower edge of this window. Finally,after having passed pulleys 106 and 109, the thread again passes window113 and is attached in groove 112 of column 38.

The course of this thread 111 has been schematically presented inperspective in FIG. 9. It is especially seen that, when carriage 15moves in the direction represented by arrow 43, the horizontal sidelocated at the upper and rear part moves in the same direction whereasthe side located in front moves in the opposite direction, and of courseall directions are reversed when the carriage moves in the oppositedirection.

Two small colored beads 1 16 and 117, for example made of plastic, arethen set, in accordance with the invention, one on the back side of thethread and one on the front side in positions such that when themagnetic head is located at the left edge of card 1 bead 116 is locatedon the face of the same edge and bead l 17 at the right edge. When anodd line is read and the carriage moves in direction 44, it is guidingmark 116 which therefore follows the written text, whereas when an oddline is read it is guiding mark 117 which reads the written text. It istherefore necessary to alternately mask one guiding mark or the other,which in each case is the one moving from right to left.

It is simply possible to provide for this purpose beneath the lowersurface of transparent part 98 two grooves 118 and 119, the lower edgeof each of which exactly corresponds to the track of one of the sides ofthread 111 when it is stretched freely. As is seen in FIGS. 6 and 7,these grooves 118 and 119 bear divergent parts 120 on the left side atthe ends and convergent parts 121 on the right side.

Finally, as is seen in the segment in large scale in FIG. 10, thesegrooves permit a passage between their lower surface and the uppersurface of cover which is distinctly insufficient to permit beads 116and 117 to pass from one side of each groove to the other.

It is easy to see that, when an odd line is explored and bead 116, ashas been seen, moves from left to right, it is moved toward the interiorof window 99 by grade of edge 118, whereas on the contrary bead 117 ismoved by grade 121 of edge 119 toward the outside, therefore belowopaque track 100 of the lower edge of the window, which conceals it. Theutilizer therefore only sees bead 116 which is moving from left toright. For odd lines, the same process causes bead 116 to be divertedtoward the outside by grade 121 and it is consequently hidden by track100, head 117 only then being visible and also moving from left toright, whereas the magnetic head on the contrary moves from right toleft.

From a construction standpoint, it is of course necessary to provide foran electric connection between magnetic head 9 and the electronic partof the device. This connection can be provided by all known means,especially by thin ribbon 122 made of insulating material containing twoconducting parts 123, this ribbon being fixed on the one hand below ahorizontal wing 124 perpendicularly extending wall 18 of the carriage(see FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) and on the other hand on a fixed part located inthe bottom of the case or else on edge 7 of the plate. In this manner,this ribbon rolls on the bottom of the unrepresented casing during thealternate movements of the carriage, producing practically no parasiticeffort or any wear.

As has been seen, carriage 15 is preferably made of plastic, which makesit possible to provide for all the extensions with which it is providedin a single piece. However, in order to permit the stripping of the twoholes of flanges 23 also a part of same as well as the mounting ofcylindrical piece 24, a circular hole is provided in wall 18 in anextension of the foregoing holes and which is plugged by a fixed,screwed or glued plug 125 and comes from the inside exactly at the levelof the wall.

In order to extend endless belt 20, on the other hand, a horizontalsheet piece 126 is used as represented in FIGS. 3 and 6, at one end ofwhich is fixed shaft 127 around which pulley 21 rotates freely. Theother end of piece 126, bent upward to a certain height, consists ofvertical part 128 which is extended by catching flange 129 inserted intoa suitable slot 130 made in side plate 4, allowing shoulders 131, whichare supported on side plate 4, to remain above and below this flange129. Finally, spring 132 is stretched between the edge of vertical part128 and side plate 4, as represented in FIG. 6, catching in suitableholes. Side plate 4 naturally also contains window 133, through whichbelt 20 and a part of pulley 21 pass. On the opposite side, verticalpart 62 already mentioned contains flange 134 bent upward and perforatedby a hole in which passes shaft 115, which is engaged by its other endin a hole bored in edge 7 of plate 3.

Finally, the device is completed by casing 135 containing this entiremechanism and also containing loudspeaker 136, microphone 137, recordingcontrol 138, galvanometer 139 also serving to confirm the charge stateof the battery and the modulation level, and finally keyboard 140 formedfrom three contacts including stop, recording and reading. The necessaryelectronic part, especially including the amplifier in the form of aprinted circuit and electronic components with regulationpotentiometers, is enclosed for example in the right part of casing 135,only a fragment of which is seen in FIG. 2. It is seen that a very greatplace remains available below plate 3, especially at the rear,especially in order to make it possible to house the feed batteries, thecomplete apparatus being very flat and of a very small format.

It is possible to add, as an improvement, an unrepresented contactactivated by the course end of frame 10 to the rear and whichautomatically stops the device, including the motor after the reading ofthe last line. Finally, unrepresented contacts are also provided,activated by the ends of course of carriage l5 and which interrupt therecording and reading during the line change and reversal of thedirection of the carriage; an electronic signal damping device is alsoprovided to avoid the cracking which a sudden restoration of the circuitwould produce.

In order to record with the card format represented above, it isespecially important to use 12 teeth of modulus 0.7427 for pinions 46and 47 which, with the number of teeth provided for the release, givesan advance rate of 3.5 mm between each line. This makes it possible toput 29 lines of perfectly legible and possibly typed lines, which arepreferably numbered at the margin, on the front side, and on the reverseside 29 magnetic tracks also 3.5 mm from each other, the axis of thefirst and last lines also being 3.5 mm away from the corresponding edge.It is easy to calculate that the total recording time for these 29tracks at the given speed of 2,38 cm/second is 3 minutes, which is aduration perfectly adapted for ordinary usage.

Among the possible applications of the device, it is especiallyimportant to point out a study of foreign languages to the extent thattheapparatus makes it possible to read sentences at the same time,followed word for word by the indices with the exact orthography ofthese words and to hear the exact pronunciation of the sentences, ofcourse also with the possibility of conducting pronunciation exercisesby mail; the student can record or repeat sentences on tracks left freein accordance with written instructions and to send the entire materialby mail.

It is especially seen that the apparatus instantaneously makes itpossible not only to change the card but also to go back and to read anyline as often as desired, with position readily found in window 99 andalso by the marginal numbering, simply by drawing the frame backward onpinion 96 by manual action.

The same apparatus also makes it possible to teach all subjects bycombining the sound document with the written documentor possibly adocument designed in the form of a photograph, a drawing, a geographicchart or any kind of figure tracing. It can also serve for advertisingor other purposes.

It is important to point out that, because of the use of a transparentmagnetic support of known type, it is also possible to place a visibledocument, for example a photograph, on the back of the card, which isthen covered with a transparent magnetic support, the front side thenremaining free to serve in one part of the card for example as a supportfor writing and in the other part of the card as a support for receivingthe mailing address and postage, which makes it possible to send aphotographic card through the mail with 3 minutes of sound recordingmade by the correspondent and accompanied by a text or not, even withoutan envelope. The front side could also be covered by a secondtransparent magnetic support to use both sides of the card at both ends.

The device can of course also be used as a dictaphone for secretaries,with a possibility of putting the cards in files, and as a recorder forrecording any sound document, including music. 7

In addition to all the advantages examined above, derived from thesimplicity and small volume of the device, its easy use, thesimultaneous presentation of an image and sound and its ability tostore, sort, classify and select cards, the support used finallypresents great importance from a commercial standpoint due to its greatease in duplicating. Because of the use of 29 parallel tracks, in fact,this duplication can take place extremely simply by passing each cardonce before a multiple magnetic head with 29 tracks, which is extremelyrapid in comparison with the slowness of magnetic tape duplication meansand even magnetic disks.

It is of course understood that the mode of execution described abovedoes not involve any limiting character, and it can undergo alldesirable modifications without thereby departing from the scope of theinvention.

In particular, the engaging of the carriage on the two sides of theendless belt could be obtained electrically, in which case theactivation of the release could then advantageously also be obtainedelectrically and simultaneously with the above, i.e., released by thesame impulse. On the other hand, the alternate movement of the carriageof constant linear speed could also be affected in a known manner,either by means of a screw or two parallel screws or by means of aheart-shaped cam,

It is also possible to provide magnetic cards or an apparatus permittingwriting and recording on the same face of the card.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for the purpose of sound recording and for simultaneousplayback with visual reading of rectangular magnetic cards, eachcomprising on their face a predetermined number of lines of printed textextending laterally over substantially the entire length and depth ofthe card and spaced at g a constant distance from each other, and havinga magnetic coating on the back, said apparatus comprising: a supportplate for maintaining said card with its magnetic coating facingdownwardly, said support plate having a laterally extending slot of alength greater than the length of said card; a movable frame supportedon said card support plate, said frame having a central aperturedefining an opening adapted to receive said card so as to engage theperipheral edges thereof, said frame further including a transparentupper portion forming a pressing means for positioning the card in saidframe aperture and pressing it against the surface of said card supportplate; a magnetic head positioned below said card and extending intosaid laterally extending slot to contact the magnetic-coated surface ofsaid card; carriage means supporting said magnetic head; means forimparting motion to said carriage means to facilitate travel of saidmagnetic head along the length of said slot alternately in the readingdirection of the lines of text and then in the opposite direction overthe entire length of the card while being adapted to scan the parallelsound tracks on the magnetic coating of said card; means for impartingtransverse movement to said card-containing frame across the cardsupporting plate, said means moving said frame and the card transverselyupwardly for a distance of one line-spacing on said card upon saidmagnetic head being conveyed to one of the ends of said laterallyextending slot so as to cause said magnetic head to contact the nextlower sound track on said card; and a stationary transparent top stripmeans having a window adapted to be positioned in alignment with saidlaterally extending strip, said transparent strip having means forproviding indication of the line of printed text on said cardcorresponding with the sound track in the process of being read inresponse to the movement of the magnetic head for each position of thecard said indication means including a movable marker for correlatingindication between said printed text of said sound track on the card; adrive means for said marker; means interconnecting said drive and thecarriage of said magnetic head, said drive means including means foractuating said marker for movement always from the left edge of the cardto the right edge relative to the wording thereon, irrespective of thedirection of motion of the magnetic head, and wherein the distancetraversed by the marker along the line of text from the left edge isalways equal to the distance covered by the magnetic head along thecorresponding tracks from the starting point of such track.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the marker is formed oftwo parts, said marker drive interconnection means including a threaddriven by the carriage and comprising a driving side and a return sideeach bearing one of the said marker parts and moving parallel to saidrectangular route, fixed sloping ramps being arranged on saidtransparent frame top portion so as to move each of said marker partsalternately inward and outward from the rectangular route according toits direction of motion whereby only one of said parts is visible at atime.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, including a spring device, saidframe being adapted to be steadily pulled back in the direction of theupper edge of the card by said spring device, said spring device beingmanually resettable by an operator in response to gripping a handlepulling the frame toward himself and effectively toward the final linesof the text, a trigger on said spring device, the successive movementsof one spacing of the frame in the opposite direction being effected bysaid trigger, an escapement, said trigger being responsive to saidescapement actuated by the carriage each time the magnetic head closelyapproaches one of the ends of the slot 4. An apparatus as claimed inclaim 3, wherein said escapement comprises a sprocket wheel withstaggered teeth, a shaft rigidly mounting said sprocket, said shaftcarrying two pinions, two racks meshing with said pinions, said racksbeing located on both sides of the frame relative to the motion thereof,said sprocket including a pawl formed by the bent end of a rod extendingparallel to said shaft and including two stationary lugs against whichthe carriage impinges, the said rod comprising flexible means pulling itback axially into a set intermediate position and a spring rotatablydriving about its own axis whereby the escapement pawl is locked by theteeth of the escapement sprocket wheel against said stationary lug inthe check direction and conversely releases said wheel upon the operatorpulling the carriage toward himself in order to set said spring device.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, including slide bars supportingsaid carriage, an endless strip driven by a continuous mechanism adaptedto move said carriage two sides of said strip extending parallel to thedirection of motion of the carriage, a device for locking the carriagealternately on at least one side of the endless strip, said lockingdevice includ ing quick-trip mechanism, fixed lugs for actuating saidmechanism, said lugs being adjusted whereby the reversal in direction ofcarriage motion is effected immediately in response to the release ofsaid escapement.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, including slide bars supportingsaid carriage, an endless strap driven by a continuous mechanism formoving said carriage, two sides of said strap extending parallel to thedirection of motion of the carriage, a device for locking the carriagealternately on at least one side of the endless trap, said lockingdevice including an electromagnetic drive, a pair of lugs for actuatingsaid electromagnetic drive through two contacts, said electromagneticdrive being adapted to operate the escapement simultaneously with thereversal in direction of carriage motion.

1. An apparatus for the purpose of sound recording and for simultaneousplayback with visual reading of rectangular magnetic cards, eachcomprising on their face a predetermined number of lines of printed textextending laterally over substantially the entire length and depth ofthe card and spaced at a constant distance from each other, and having amagnetic coating on the back, said apparatus comprising: a support platefor maintaining said card with its magnetic coating facing downwardly,said support plate having a laterally extending slot of a length greaterthan the length of said card; a movable frame supported on said cardsupport plate, said frame having a central aperture defining an openingadapted to receive said card so as to engage the peripheral edgesthereof, said frame further including a transparent upper portionforming a pressing means for positioning the card in said frame apertureand pressing it against the surface of said card support plate; amagnetic head positioned below said card and extending into saidlaterally extending slot to contact the magnetic-coated surface of saidcard; carriage means supporting said magnetic head; means for impartingmotion to said carriage means to facilitate travel of said magnetic headalong the length of said slot alternately in the reading direction ofthe lines of text and then in the opposite direction over the entirelength of the card while being adapted to scan the parallel sound trackson the magnetic coating of said card; means for imparting transversemovement to said card-containing frame across the card supporting plate,said means moving said frame and the card transversely upwardly for adistance of one line-spacing on said card upon said magnetic head beingconveyed to one of the ends of said laterally extending slot so as tocause said magnetic head to contact the next lower sound track on saidcard; and a stationary transparent top strip means having a windowadapted to be positioned in alignment with said laterally extendingstrip, said transparent strip having means for providing indication ofthe line of printed text on said card corresponding with the sound trackin the process of being read in response to the movement of the magnetichead for each position of the card said indication meAns including amovable marker for correlating indication between said printed text ofsaid sound track on the card; a drive means for said marker; meansinterconnecting said drive and the carriage of said magnetic head, saiddrive means including means for actuating said marker for movementalways from the left edge of the card to the right edge relative to thewording thereon, irrespective of the direction of motion of the magnetichead, and wherein the distance traversed by the marker along the line oftext from the left edge is always equal to the distance covered by themagnetic head along the corresponding tracks from the starting point ofsuch track.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the marker isformed of two parts, said marker drive interconnection means including athread driven by the carriage and comprising a driving side and a returnside each bearing one of the said marker parts and moving parallel tosaid rectangular route, fixed sloping ramps being arranged on saidtransparent frame top portion so as to move each of said marker partsalternately inward and outward from the rectangular route according toits direction of motion whereby only one of said parts is visible at atime.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, including a spring device,said frame being adapted to be steadily pulled back in the direction ofthe upper edge of the card by said spring device, said spring devicebeing manually resettable by an operator in response to gripping ahandle pulling the frame toward himself and effectively toward the finallines of the text, a trigger on said spring device, the successivemovements of one spacing of the frame in the opposite direction beingeffected by said trigger, an escapement, said trigger being responsiveto said escapement actuated by the carriage each time the magnetic headclosely approaches one of the ends of the slot.
 4. An apparatus asclaimed in claim 3, wherein said escapement comprises a sprocket wheelwith staggered teeth, a shaft rigidly mounting said sprocket, said shaftcarrying two pinions, two racks meshing with said pinions, said racksbeing located on both sides of the frame relative to the motion thereof,said sprocket including a pawl formed by the bent end of a rod extendingparallel to said shaft and including two stationary lugs against whichthe carriage impinges, the said rod comprising flexible means pulling itback axially into a set intermediate position and a spring rotatablydriving about its own axis whereby the escapement pawl is locked by theteeth of the escapement sprocket wheel against said stationary lug inthe check direction and conversely releases said wheel upon the operatorpulling the carriage toward himself in order to set said spring device.5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, including slide bars supportingsaid carriage, an endless strip driven by a continuous mechanism adaptedto move said carriage two sides of said strip extending parallel to thedirection of motion of the carriage, a device for locking the carriagealternately on at least one side of the endless strip, said lockingdevice including quick-trip mechanism, fixed lugs for actuating saidmechanism, said lugs being adjusted whereby the reversal in direction ofcarriage motion is effected immediately in response to the release ofsaid escapement.
 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, including slidebars supporting said carriage, an endless strap driven by a continuousmechanism for moving said carriage, two sides of said strap extendingparallel to the direction of motion of the carriage, a device forlocking the carriage alternately on at least one side of the endlesstrap, said locking device including an electromagnetic drive, a pair oflugs for actuating said electromagnetic drive through two contacts, saidelectromagnetic drive being adapted to operate the escapementsimultaneously with the reversal in direction of carriage motion.